While I enjoyed McCoy's first book Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell, I wasn't as enamored with her sophomore release. I wanted to love it! I love independently-owned or "indie" bookstores. I love booksellers and writers and stories and best friends and grandmothers. But there were aspects of the book that grated on my nerves. To be fair, my review is based on the NetGalley ARC, so hopefully (fingers crossed) things like overly- repeated phrases (some of which due to differences in generation and language I would never use), as well as a misplaced explanation about a secondary character, were caught and fixed in final edits. There were a few other things with characters, however, that were not my preference to read.

The bedroom scenes were certainly open-door, but seemed to fit well into the story as it is. There's some language (some of which seemed forced, and other words seemed to repeat more often than I think is needed), and certainly adult situations. However, there are some really sweet scenes with Reid's classes that I loved and that were absolutely real. I hope his school exists in real life!

I landed on a 3-star rating, which for me means I liked the book, it is fine, but not what I'd recommend or gush about.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced ebook to read and review. All opinions are my own.

This book was fun reading but also had many moments where I was cringing— I was very bothered by Zora’s grandma’s obsession with pushing the grand babies agenda. It just bothers me when family members pressure loved ones about having kids as if it’s such an easy decision. Maybe it was written that way for the kicks of it but I hate that.

I also cringed when grandma was just all in the tea especially when Zora was talking about her sex life. :/

I also didn’t like the fact that Zora was out here sleeping with both Lawrence & Reid at the same time. Maybe I’m old school but I just thought that wasn’t cute.

Other than that it was entertaining and the writing was good. I would like to read more from McCoy in the near future.

Zora owns a thriving DC bookstore, with no time for romance. Her favorite mystery author agrees to have an event at her store, and Lawrence is every bit as charming as she imagined. He doesn't seem to understand his own books, and the grumpy guy next to her making snide comments is Lawrence’s best friend, Reid. The two are very different, and Zora learns more about both of them as she starts seeing Lawrence. After years of avoiding dating, she suddenly has two handsome men competing for her affection. Zora struggles to choose between them and has the feeling that they’re both hiding something. This is a mystery she’ll solve before she can find her HEA.

We're introduced to Zor-lock Holmes in the beginning, tracking down lost items and backtracking information. Her grandmother and best friend make up her family at this point, and her life revolves around the shop and them. They are utterly hilarious, I love them so much. Lawrence is flashy and glitzy, without too much substance or stamina on dates. Reid is reintroduced to Zora when Lawrence suggests her as a speaker for Reid's writing class. He's down to earth and values Black history and local businesses as Zora does, and is generally much more thoughtful. The two men were friends since college, and encourage Xora to date them both to see who she actually likes better. The reader knows who Zora is better off with, but she's full of lists, talking to others, and hoping for perfection if not working all the time. We also have our suspicions about the writing long before Zora does.

I really enjoyed Zora as a character and the relationship she has with her grandmother, friend, and employees. She is a kind and giving woman, one who values hard work and her community. Lawrence is selfish and thinks he can do no wrong, and Reid is standoffish at times. Zora takes it upon herself to crack the mystery and charges full speed ahead. We understand the thrill of the chase, but the fallout of that felt resolved a bit too quickly. It's a good happily ever after, though, and one that readers will definitely enjoy.

***I received an ebook copy from the publisher at no cost***

This was a fun book that had lots of heart melting moments mixed with a bit of angst and a whole lot of laugh-out-loud moments.

From the moment things kicked off, I adored Granny Marion and Emma. These women are the two closest people to Zora and you can tell through their jokes and banter that they’re close and they adore one another. I felt like I could relate to Emma in terms of always losing things. That’s my MO in real life.

Zora owns a small bookstore that’s starting to take off. She’s made a name for herself in the neighborhood she grew up in and her focus is on her career. She dreams of finding love someday but, like she tells her granny, it’s just not a priority for her right now.

Then Lawrence enters the scene. He’s a well-known mystery author and Zora has pined for him for years. She finally gets a chance to go out with him and thus starts a story filled with all kinds of drama and twists.

I have to admit, I wasn’t really a fan of Lawrence. But I also wasn’t a fan of Reid to begin with either. I don’t want to spoil this for anyone who hasn’t gotten to read it yet but, I will say that I was happy with how things ended and the direction that the author chose to go in.

I enjoy books with a love triangle, and this book has just that. I thought that the characters were well-constructed and I enjoyed the big three ladies-Zora, Emma, and Granny-so very much. Zork is a pretty amazing lead. She’s driven, she’s successful, and she doesn’t take crap from anyone. She’s not afraid to go after what she wants and I appreciated that in her.

This is my first Taj McCoy book and I look forward to getting to read more of them.

Four stars to this novel!

I love Zora and her friends and, even if love triangles are amongst my pet peeve, liked Lawrence and Reid.
Zora is the driving force of this book and it's a well plotted and relatable characters.
Lawrence and Reid are the two different aspects of the men we met: the mysterious one may too good to be tru and the one you didn't like but discover he's a good guy.
There's some mystery, there's an entertaining plot, and interesting description of what being a black show owner means.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Zora Books Her Happy Ever After is so cute! Zora was such a relatable person and I was in utter love with how she prioritized herself.

In terms of her goals and dreams. Chickie needed some help balancing her vision with her mental and social health. Don’t we all though? From the very start the characters were making me feel all the feels. I have so many issues with Lawrence. I don’t know if I’m super suspicious of everyone or if i just genuinely have a wonderful red flag detector or I don’t trust anyone.

But he was pushing the red flag button from the start. This honestly might be why I’m single but I’m ok with that if there’s guys like Lawrence out there. And I know there are. I absolutely hated him from the start. He just seemed like a fuckboi and I was not here for it.

Reid, on the other hand, was hitting all the green flags. I absolutely loved the way all of these characters, even Lawrence, grew and matured in their own way and how they made me feel. Don’t get me wrong, Reid wasn’t perfect from the beginning. He was not lovable off the bat but he was so much better than Lawrence. It was perfectly written.

The diversity and focus on Black culture and Black-owned businesses was *chef’s kiss*. Zora grew so much. I legit loved this book. It was cute and pretty hot. I wouldn’t call it spicy as such… It was a three on the spicy scale, like the HOT hot sauce from Taco Bell.

It wasn’t bad and it genuinely added to the story. I really liked Zora Books Her Happy Ever After

I will start by saying that Zora, her best friend Emma, and Granny are wonderful characters and have a special bond that I loved reading. Though it doesn’t seem like it at first, Reid is amazing and I always loved when he was on the scene. There are other things I really enjoyed about this story that I’ll be discussing as I go along, but there were things that also didn’t work for me.

My biggest issue with this book is its pacing. The chapters are on the long side and since the two MMCs aren’t introduced until the third chapter, it seemed like a long wait to meet them. Not that they’re the focus of this story. The focus is very firmly on Zora and we only get her POV. I generally like multiple POV books, but the single POV worked here. What didn’t work was the continuity. There are a lot of unneeded details and meandering text that overburdened this book. If you’re not going to edit out those unnecessary bits, at least make sure they are adding up and make sense. Thankfully, these weren’t things that changed the storyline. But they were noticeable and distracting.

Zora is a strong, brilliant, compassionate black woman in many ways. That’s why it was hard for me to understand how she didn’t figure out what was bothering her about Reid and Lawrence. It’s very obvious and when she does figure it out, her character seemed to change before my eyes. I felt she became selfish in the way she handled the situation and her expectations from both men. Especially the one she was closer to.

I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me that this book would be a love triangle. That’s not my favorite thing, but it didn’t bother me here because the author did a fantastic job of approaching the triangle in a very mature way. Everyone in the triangle was well aware of the situation and on board with exploring feelings before any commitments were made. My only problem with this is I strongly preferred one paramour over the other and didn’t understand why Zora wasn’t thinking the same way I was, and that’s a me problem.

There weren’t really fireworks in this book. As I mentioned earlier, this story is more focused on Zora and her journey than the men. I don’t love that Granny has tunnel vision about great-grandbabies, it gets to be a bit much. I honestly wasn’t all in on Zora even wanting a relationship when she first started dating these men. It seemed much more a by-product of the nagging she got from Emma and Granny. But one of the men did lift Zora up and support her in a way that there was a true partnership that I liked.

I want to end on a positive note. When the dialogue was between the friends and more of the chit-chat variety as opposed to lengthy explanations Zora is giving one of her gentleman suitors it was so fun and realistic. This is how I hear real people talking with their friends, the wording and cadence. Spot on.

This story was not bad by any means. But it also didn’t live up to my expectations. It had so much potential.

ZORA BOOKS HER HAPPY EVER AFTER by Taj McCoy is an enchanting contemporary romance/rom-com featuring an intelligent and curvy independent bookstore owner in Washington D.C. and two best friends vying for her attention. This new-to-me author pulled me into her characters’ lives, and I was disappointed it had to end.

Zora owns an independent D.C. bookstore and spends all her time working to make it thrive and be an important part of the community. When an author she has been infatuated with for years agrees to an event in her store, she is more than excited. Lawrence is as handsome in person as he is on his book jackets, and he asks Zora out after the event. It would have been the perfect night if not for his grouchy friend, Reid making snarky comments sitting next to her during the event.

Lawrence continues to ask Zora out, but so does Reid. While both know the other is seeing Zora, she is finding it difficult to choose and she is also beginning to think there is something that both men are hiding. Zora pulls out her Zor-lock Holmes and discovers a secret that just may jeopardize her HEA with the man she wants.

I am so in love with Zora and all the characters in this story. Lawrence is the man you dream about and maybe do not have realistic expectations of, and Reid is the man who leaves you with a bad first impression but makes up for it and more. Zora’s best friend and roommate, Emma had an interesting dating life, but was the supportive friend we all want in our corner. And then there is Marion, Zora’s grandma. She is such a fun character who continually asked Zora for grandbabies and is just as much involved in the sexy talks and advice as Emma. The author did a good job of keeping me guessing about what the mystery was between Lawrence and Reid and it was resolved well. This romance has plenty of love, food, and seriously hot sexy scenes.

I highly recommend this engaging and sexy contemporary romance/rom-com!

A good romance with some steam and a lot of innuendo going on, but also a little mystery, too. Zora is totally dedicated to running a thriving bookstore in her neighborhood in D.C. and invites a local author to speak. That’s when the book gets more interesting as two men begin to vie for her affections and Zora has to decide who is being real and who is playing a part. The romance was part of the book was okay if not totally engaging or realistic. I liked getting to know the characters, but I must say that Granny harping on getting grand babies got annoying after about the tenth time of her using the same lines. I liked the support and encouragement that Zora’s friends gave her and thought that added the friendship dimension to the story. Lawrence, the author, seemed to be arrogant at times so he was not totally likable or trustworthy. His friend Reid also seemed to be secretive about something but he was more likable although he was portrayed as grumpy. When Zora is wooed by both men, she has to determine who is most likely to be a good mate, demonstrating fidelity and honesty, and there’s a lot of humor built into her quest to determine who is portraying themselves and who is putting on an act. I thought it was obvious after a few clues what was going on, so that is not what kept me reading. I wanted to see how Zora discovered the truth and how she handled the whole dilemma that she had gotten herself into. Knowing this was a debut novel, I didn’t expect to have a lot of fun reading it, but I did, especially the parts in which Zora works at investigating and investing in a relationship. The dialogue was sharp and the overall story was satisfying and clever.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

This book was a delight. I am part of the small percentage of people that LOVES love-triangles. I think that people, women are so multi dimensional, and a book that explores two possible love matches that appease different aspects of Zora is a true delight to read.

During my read I feel like I also learned so much. This is why I fight for romance books, they have the ability to yes, make us swoon, but also, help us learn about intersectionality.

With all the fabulous and over the top antics that the romance genre does so well, McCoy truly penned a spectacular read. I highly recommend this book to all!

So honoured to be part of the #hearourvoices tour for Zora Books Her Happily Ever After by Taj McCoy!

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Independent bookstore owner Zora has no time for love, or so she thinks. When longtime crush and one of her favourite authors comes to her bookstore for a book signing, she manages to catch his attention with her beauty and passion.

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She also attracts the attention of his rude, grumpy best friend, who turns out to be not so rude or grumpy after all, and Zora finds herself in a love triangle of dramatic proportions (at least where her sweet grandmother and jovial bestie are concerned 🤣).

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While I was highly entertained by this book and Zora's dilemma and her grannie's and best friend's shenanigans, I found the red flags one of Zora's LI's threw up to be too obvious for Zora to miss. She just kept giving him a pass, every single time something odd popped up, which felt incomparable to the few times the second LI also made her "spidey senses tingle". There is a huge difference between someone hiding something from you for unknown reasons, and someone outright calling your dream to write romance books a "joke". Not to mention leaving you unsatisfied in the bedroom 🫠 But that's just me I guess 😭

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All in all, despite disliking the romance's central conflict and eventual resolution, I still found this book to be highly entertaining. YMMV.

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Thank you so much to @hearourvoicestours and the publisher for the copy! This in no way affects my review.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
Zora Books Her Happy Ever After by Taj McCoy is a fun and steamy romantic comedy. Zora runs a successful bookstore – she does what she wants and is good at it. But her grandmother keeps reminding her that what's missing is the love of a good man and a family of her own. When Lawrence and Reid enter her life for an author event, now she doesn't just have one potential love but two. However, nothing is perfect, and Zora can tell they are hiding something. When she discovers the truth, will that be a deal breaker for one or both men?

My Reading Experience:
This story is a lot of fun to read and is in one of my favorite settings. It is a love triangle trope, and I know many of you dislike that particular trope. Even I get very frustrated with it often. Love triangles toy with the reader's emotions, and who wants that? But I must say, even though technically Zora – Lawrence – Reid is a love triangle, the story doesn't read like one. For one thing, all parties knew about all relationships, and they were handled with a great deal of maturity. Also, really there is no contest about who is coming out on top of this triangle, so it didn't have that emotional toying that is not so fun.

Zora wants to write mysteries, so the fact that there is a mystery and a twist in this rom-com is totally in keeping with that. And I do love good mysteries and surprising twists. Only I knew what was up when I met both men at the author's event. That was a little disappointing only because the subterfuge had given me hope for a little plotline of something not so predictable, and yet even the twist was predictable.

Characters:
All the characters were delightfully well-developed, and all, but one, is totally likable and relatable. Zora is this story's star, though, and I couldn't help but admire her and even envy her a little. She is strong and independent – a woman who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go get it. She's living a book lover's dream, and personally, I'm in awe.

Narration & Pacing:
The narration is in the third person, focused solely on Zora. I can't help but wonder if first-person narration would have been more personal and inviting for me. Still, the fact that it focused on Zora kept the story focused.

The pace tends to get mired down in the details, creating slowness in the reading pace. That was my one minor niggle. It really bordered on overwritten at times, which is a definite issue for me regarding my reading enjoyment.

Setting:
The story is set in Washington, DC. In some ways, the setting is inconsequential, but in other ways, it is the perfect setting for this story. I loved the bookstore with the coffee bar right there. Other than a beach somewhere, it's my second favorite setting. I also loved how the bookstore is utilized in the plot – between meeting the author and his friend and the contest that the children enter – it truly could not have been set anywhere else and still be the same story.

Read if you like:
Love triangle trope
Steamy and witty romcoms
A bookish setting

Zora Books Her Happy Ever After calls romance fans and those who love love triangles. For Zora she never thought that a book event would result in two steamy love interests. But soon enough, she has to figure out not only who she could have feelings for, but what she is looking for. The premise is delightful and I enjoyed the ways Zora is truly torn between Reid and Lawrence. I loved that she has to really figure out what qualities of a relationship is important to her.

Zora is a single, independent local bookstore owner, finds herself in a dilemma when she starts dating her author crush, and his best friend. In her quest to make a final decision, she stumbles upon a secret that could destroy both situationships. As if that isn't enough, she is receiving pressure from her grandmother to give her great-grandbabies.

This book grabbed my attention from page one. The food, the culture and the community outreach drew me in, and the comedic relief was a plus. My favorite character is Zora's grandmother, because she knew how to live life; whereas my least favorite character is Lawrence. I knew something wasn't right from the first dinner.

As Zora tried to balance life and career, hey support system stepped up and showed it.

This was my first read by @the1whowill, but it certainly won't be my last. A special thanks to @_mira_books_ and @netgalley for this ARC.

Set a novel in a bookstore and give me interesting characters to root for, and good writing and I am all in. Taj McCoy's Zora Books Her Own Happiness has that and so much more.

Zora bought a local bookstore in her Washington DC neighborhood with money left to her by her father. She lives with her sassy Granny Marion and her best friend Emma, who both work at Zora's bookstore called Opus Northeast.

Zora works hard to make Opus Northeast a true community gathering place, hosting events for adults and children. She loves her bookstore but it takes up most of her time, ordering books, working with publishers, waiting on customers, keeping up with the ever-demanding social media platforms, and it leaves little time for an active social life.

When a bestselling local author whom Zora has a crush on agrees to an event at her store, Zora is ecstatic. Lawrence Michaels writes a series of popular mystery thriller series and Zora knows he will be a hit. Emma and Granny Marion encourage Zora to go for it with Lawrence, but Zora thinks he is out of her league, and she is too busy anyway.

Lawrence's event at Opus is a hit, drawing a big crowd, including Lawrence's best friend from college and social media director Reid. Reid doesn't make a great first impression on Zora, he seems like he has a chip on his shoulder.

Much to Granny Marion and Emma's delight, Lawrence asks Zora to his apartment for dinner, and she accepts. The evening goes well, and there seems to be good chemistry between Zora and Lawrence.

Reid is a high school English teacher and he invites Zora to speak to his class about a city-wide writing contest that Zora is sponsoring at her store. Zora and Reid begin spending time together, and Zora discovers that she has feelings for Reid. When it rains, it pours, and Zora doesn't want to hurt either man. What to do?

There was so much I liked about this book. Zora is a confident Black woman, a hardworking business owner, and she cares about her community. She's also a proud bibliophile, a foodie, and she cares about other people's feelings. The little touches that reveal character, like Zora saying grace before every meal, elevate this terrific novel.

As somone with a bookstore connection, I enjoyed reading all about Zora's experiences as a bookstore owner. You get a true feeling for what that involves on a day-to-day basis.

There is an interesting twist about Lawrence and Reid's relationship that impacts Zora, one that a careful reader may be able to guess.

Zora Books Her Own Happiness is a delightful romance about a realistic woman who finds herself with a choice to make. Does she make the right one? I think so, and I hope we get to read more about Zora and her family and friends in subsequent books.

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on Taj McCoy's tour.

Zora, a bookshop owner, ends up in a love triangle between her favorite author, Lawrence and his best friend, Reid. Zora isn’t keen on the idea of dating them both but the guys are okay with it because they’ve done it before. That’s red flag #1 for me lol. She focused on her bookshop but with her grandmother pressuring her for great-grand babies she decided to date the best friends. She’s leaning more towards one guy when a shocking secret gets revealed that changes everything. Will Zora even find her happily ever with either of the men.

While I liked that Zora, her friend Emma, and grandmother have such a close relationship and that there were there to help guide her through the ups and downs up dating two guys. At times, it was overbearing. I don’t believe anyone should be asking about when you’re having children ever time they see you.

While Reid didn’t make the best impression on Zora when they first met, in the end you understand exactly why he did and I don’t fault that against him. I do feel like she was way too hard on him with the how can I trust you bit. Like come on her literally legally could not tell you and now you think he’s lying about any and everything. But Lawrence literally lied about something on the first date and you were willing to be okay with it. BFFR! <<Sidenote: Did anyone else think that a certain character has something else going on in Atlanta other than book events or what it just me?>>

The book was full of representation. A Black curvy female lead character. A Black male high school English teacher. A Black male author who writes intelligent strong Black female characters, bi rep, several Black owned businesses, in the metro D.C. area.

This was time reading a book by Taj McCoy. I’ve heard nothing but good things about her debut book Saavy Sheldon Feels Good As Hell and after finishing this book I look forward to reading more of her work. Thank you Hear Our Voices Tour, the publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

Can dating multiple guys at once be the solution to finding happiness? What if two of your love interests were best friends?

Meet Zora proud owner of a DC bookstore that has her so tied up these days she just hasn’t had any time for romance. That soon changes after she’s asked on a date by the author she’s been crushing on for years Lawrence Michaels. In Zora’s mind he seems perfect but there’s something about him she can’t put her finger on. Once she’s asked on a date by Lawrence’s bestfriend Reid who initially made a bad first impression things become a little more clear. Could dating two bestfriends actually work in Zora’s favor until she decides what or who she really wants?

The dialogue and humor throughout the book was fantastic. Zora was a really strong character but her Zor-locking was getting a little annoying. The situation that transpired between Lawrence and Reid could’ve been avoided had she stayed in her lane.

I didn’t like Lawrence from the beginning there was something sketchy and pushy about him. In the end my assumptions were accurate. Plus I never felt any chemistry between the two especially with his no PDA in public. Now the natural affection and chemistry between Reid and Zora was so alluring and magnetic. He was more attentive to Zora’s needs and what she wanted unlike Lawrence. I loved seeing their love triangle unfold through the eyes of someone on both receiving ends. I knew who the better suitor would be for Zora before she even made a decision.

Overall, the book was great the pacing started a bit slow but once things pick up you’re hooked. I also enjoyed the plot, the spicy scenes, and the supporting characters they were very relatable. Emma and her Grandma will definitely keep you entertained. The author tied everything together so well leaving us with the perfect ending. Special thanks to the author, hearourvoicestours, & HTPbooks for my advanced copy!!!

This book was perfectly fine to me. There were things I thought was good, others bad.

Good: Great diversity, lots of character insights, books (!!), growth especially in Zora, great use of side characters
Bad: Some strange immaturity throughout the book, the side characters were likeable to me, the grumpy best friend felt dramaticized

I will say, love triangles can be hard, but I thought McCoy did a good job with it. In the very least, it wasn't insufferable.

Overall, won't be recommending and would think hard before reading another book by this author.

As someone whose books are my life, I can only dream of one day opening my bookstore. Until then, I have to be content with reading about bookstores and their owners and the amazing things that their stores get up to. Zora Books Her Happy Ever After had me at bookshop. I have to admit, I didn't have that high of expectations for this book as I wasn't a fan of her previous one Savvy Sheldon as the character annoyed me with her going on about her weight. However, Zora was amazing and I loved how the writing flowed with this book all the characters even the side characters of Emma and Granny were great. The book starts with author Lawrence doing a signing and talking. Lawrence is one of Zora's author crushes and her dreams come true when he asks her out, but you know when you build up your crush and then the reality can be very different - that's what happens here but at the same time - another guy Reid who just happens to be Lawrence's best friend is also interested in Zora - a Mr. Grumpy but Sweet underneath - the complete opposite to Lawrence. Zora Books Her Happy Ever After was a sweet easy-to-read romance and very predictable as I had already known what was going to happen after Chapter 3 but the writing and story made up as it was one of those books you could just relax and read and feel good afterwards. If you love books about books and bookstores and don't mind love triangles, then you will enjoy Taj McCoy's black romance "Zora Books Her Happy Ever After".

Oh I wanted to love this book! I love, love books about books and bookstores. But this one just did not work for me.